68Gilbert Montagne was born on December 28, 1951 in Paris. Born prematurely in the family apartment after six months of pregnancy, he weighed 950 grams at birth. He is put in an incubator but air too rich in oxygen in the device causes retinopathy. He is therefore not considered blind from birth. It was as an autodidact and on his piano that he developed a real taste for pop music, jazz and rock. He stayed six years at theNational Institute for Blind Youth. After an unsuccessful recording at the age of 16, he decided to join his sister, a French teacher at Miami and enrolled at university where he pursued classical musical studies. He returns in Europe in 1971 to record The Fool which will become n°1 in France and in other European countries.
After several albums he decided to emigrate again to America where he lives his passion for jazz anonymously.
In 1979, it's Johnny Hallyday which revives it in France by hiring him for his show. Consecration arrived in 1984 with the release of the album Free which contains hits like We are going to love each other ou Tropical Sunlights. He released a series of albums before leaving to settle in Canada with his family in 1990.
Throughout his career, he led an incessant fight for better consideration of the blind by society, for example through the European project for Braille labeling of consumer products. He received several decorations such as knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor (2006) officer of the national order of merit (2011) officer of the legion of honor (2020). He is also inducted by the Brotherhood of Knights of Tastevin and even passed in 2015 Grand officer of this brotherhood.
Gilbert Montagne married Maureen Byrne in 1975. Installed in Quebec, they had two boys named Eric et Nicolas. The couple divorced in 1993. After this first long affair, the singer fell under the spell of Nicholas whom he married in 1999.
I travel, I go to painting or photo exhibitions. I cultivate my curiosity. And Nikole gives me a lot of reason to admire her with her patience and her rigor. She carries, in what was the reconstruction of my life in my forties, an important part on her shoulders. And although we didn't have children together, out of five grandchildren, we have two in common, Mia and Ava"
Eric, the artist's son, indeed fell in love with Cécile, Daughter of Nikole, and they had two children together. A beautiful blended family.
